The 2nd National Congress on Childhood will provide an educational opportunity for a diverse group of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals, including physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, prehospital providers, EMS administrators, community advocates, and EMS/health services researchers. The intent of the conference is to advance the concepts of continuous quality in pediatric emergency care and pediatric health care. The 2nd National Congress theme is Giving America s Children Our Best. Program planners will address this theme by initiating action to improve care; encouraging dynamic interchanges between providers, researchers, administrators, and families; and translating research into effective practice and policy. The educational priorities for the 2nd National Congress are: Quality improvement for pediatric emergency medical services Policy and advocacy that advances pediatric health issues Education and knowledge transfer for pediatric health professionals Pediatric clinical care advances for emergency care of children in the prehospital, primary, emergency, and rehabilitative medical environments Cross discipline cooperation and collaboration between pediatric emergency medical leaders. The conference content will be composed of presentations selected from a national call for program and research abstracts, as well as invited speakers on priority topics. The conference will be held March 27-29, 2000 in Baltimore, MD. Conference management is provided by the EMSC National Resource Center, based in Washington, DC.